Houston Botanic Garden

Our friends at Shangri La Botanical Gardens and Nature Center in Orange are no strangers to dealing with storm impacts like we are facing in Houston after Beryl, so we were grateful to have Jennifer Buckner, Shangri La's director of horticulture, and Jacob Price, its grounds superintendent, on-site yesterday to share their experience with our horticulture and operations departments. In addition, we had the opportunity to exchange some plants with them, which will enhance the collections both here and in the Golden Triangle.

Get to know Jena Portanova, the Garden's plant records manager.

Hurricane Beryl dealt all of us a blow. But Houstonians power through and grow stronger than ever in the wake of challenges like this. As a valued member of our community of plant lovers, you have the unique opportunity to help turn this unfortunate situation into a real turning point in the life of the Garden. We humbly ask that you consider making a donation that will directly contribute to the restoration efforts needed to repair the damage inflicted upon the Garden by Hurricane Beryl. Whether you can spare a little or a lot, every dollar given makes a difference in helping us recover and thrive once again. Help us restore the Garden: https://lnkd.in/gJcktWmD Let's grow through this together!

Thank you for your investment in the well-being of our neighbors in southeast Houston!

Yesterday, horticulture manager Brent Moon and assistant horticulturist Lyndsey Ware returned to the San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge -- with a permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) -- to collect Louisiana iris mapped on a previous visit using GIS technology by plant records manager Jena Portanova. Altogether, they collected 50 rhizomes, along with seed pods, where possible. The Garden will grow the collected plants in its on-site nursery and eventually plant them in the Garden for visitors to enjoy and learn more about. This arrangement also allows the Garden to be a repository for Louisiana iris in the event they are ever lost in-situ (in their original, natural place), due to disease, a hurricane, or other natural disaster. This is a key component of not only the Garden's mission, but also the mission of the entire botanic garden community worldwide. "Recent estimates indicate that one-fifth of botanical species worldwide are considered at risk of becoming extinct in the wild (Pimm and Raven, 2017)...As repositories of rare plant germplasm and horticultural expertise, botanical gardens can play a vital role in the reintroduction and recovery of threatened plant species in the wild (Guerrant et al., 2004)." Center for Plant Conservation's Best Practice Guidelines for the reintroduction of rare plants Joyce Maschinskia and Matthew A. Albrecht Plant Divers. 2017 Dec; 39(6): 390–395.

Join the Garden’s in-house horticulture team this Saturday, June 8, for our annual "Hear from Our Experts" seminar, a full day of learning about soil, plants, trees, water, and more. Tickets: https://lnkd.in/g7j3DwGp Horticulture Seminar Schedule: 9-9:30 a.m. – Check-in and coffee 9:30-10:15 a.m. – Tours of the Garden 10:30-11 a.m. – “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Weeds of Houston,” with assistant horticulturist Cory Saul Are you a local weed wiz, or are you more likely to ask, “Weed what?” Know your enemy with some basic weed ID, then rank them from Good, to Bad, to Ugly. With so many weeds to pull and so little time, it helps to know which ones are the absolute worst, and which ones just get a bad rap. Cory Saul is an assistant horticulturist, with a focus on arid and native plants. Previous to his time in Houston, he worked at specialty arid nursery Tula Plants & Design and Brooklyn Botanic Garden. 11-11:30 a.m. – “Fighting Pesky Mosquitoes with Perky Plants,” with assistant horticulturist Diane Allen Find out what types of plants repel mosquitoes and can even help reduce the number of mosquitoes in your garden. Plus, learn how to make your own homemade plant-based mosquito repellant, alongside some fun facts that you never knew about these pesky pests. Diane Allen is an assistant horticulturist, with a focus on maintaining the Garden entrances and Alcoves. She has previous experience working at the San Antonio Botanical Garden and Nature’s Herb Farm in San Antonio. 11:30-11:50 AM – Panel questions 12-12:30 PM – Lunch provided by the Garden 12:30-1 p.m. – “Techniques in Organic Gardening,” with horticulturist Phillip Jennings Get ideas for organic solutions to some common garden problems. Phillip Jennings brings more than 40 years of gardening experience to his role as a horticulturist at the Garden. 1-1:45 p.m. – “A Scientific Approach to Tree Care Basics: Selection, Planting, Pruning. and More,” with senior horticulturist Colin Lyman Learn how to select the right trees for your yard, and set them up for success while planting. Then hear how and why performing minor pruning and applying mulch in the correct way will keep your trees happy and healthy. Colin Lyman is the senior horticulturist at the Garden, where he oversees and manages all horticultural operations. Colin has a bachelor’s in Plant Science and a master’s in Business Management and Leadership, as well as almost 10 years of experience in the horticulture industry, previously working at several college campuses. 2-3 p.m. – Panel questions, happy hour, and networking/discussion

Join Houston Audubon at Houston Botanic Garden's Summer Saturdays series for an evening of nature and bird photography. Participants will learn photography tips and techniques before venturing outdoors for hands-on practice using their own cameras and binoculars. Register for this event at https://lnkd.in/g5JduXc4 📅 Saturday, June 8 🕕 6 - 7:30 PM 📍 Houston Botanic Garden

#GoPublicGardens2024 - Houston Botanic Garden's lovely spring blooms include the Opuntia cacanapa, Agave gentry, and the Yucca rostrata 'Blue Sentry.' Bluebonnet season also started earlier than usual this year. The Texas state flower bloomed 2-3 weeks earlier in mid-February! The warm temps and that enchanting pollen dust (pine pollen) that covers everything worked its magic. Learn more about the Houston Botanic Garden: https://hbg.org/ #GoPublicGardens #PublicGarden #PublicGardens #Houston #HoustonBotanicGarden #Texas #spring #springtime #springblooms #spring24 #spring2024

As Points of Light National Volunteer Week draws to a close, we want to take a moment to thank our hundreds of individual (especially the 50 or so who volunteer with us twice a month or more) and group volunteers with whom we literally could not do all that we do in the service of our mission to enrich lives through education, discovery, and the conservation of plants and the natural environment. This Earth Month, we were overwhelmed -- in a good way -- with support from employees (and, in some cases, members of their families, a few children included) of the following companies / organizations: Apache Corporation, Audacy, Inc., Boeing, Chicken N Pickle, EY, IKEA, Reliant Energy, Southwest Airlines, St. John's School, Tomorrow Energy, TPC Group & Vitol Thank you, all!

Today on Earth Day, we celebrate our natural resources and honor the need to protect this legacy for generations to come. 🌎 This morning, we joined Houston Botanic Garden and TIRZ 8 to unveil the new mural along Sims Bayou Greenway: Wild Texas. Artist David Cobb’s colorful, 300-foot wonder portrays Texas’ diverse plants, insects, and birds. 🐞 #EarthDay #WildTexas #BayouGreenways